Is Princess taking QM2/Cunard down the drain?

[avalon1025]

I've sailed QM2 twice, once with a Cunard ownership and one with Princess influence (dinning room etc was mostly Princess staffed). Anyone think that this is good or bad? Princess IMHO has gone way downhill since their heyday and now that the QM2 is moving to Brooklyn as a departure point, will all the romance be gone?

[Chuck & Phyllis]

All we know is that we had the best cruise of all our many sailings on many lines. They should keep doing what they're doing now. Chuck

[Paul NH]

When did they announce the QM2 would be departing from Brooklyn??? Can you give us the source of that information?

[travler153]

It's on the front page of cruisecritic.com http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1283

[Paul NH]

Thanks for the link. That is MAJOR news! But probably for the best as I never, ever hear anything positive about the Manhattan pier. I wonder why the city is not maintaining/updating them to keep those piers competitive, especially when they had such a wide cruise liner market docking there. I guess, from the city's perspective, they are retaining Cunard's and Princess' business, but what a loss of prestige for Manhattan.

[2moose]

whatever changes were made i dont know. but i do know that my wife and i and every one on our cruise that we were in touch with said the same thing. MAGNIFICENT!!! NO COMPLAINTS THAT WE KNOW OF!!! I THINK THIS NEW WHITE STAR SERVICE PROGRAM HAS A LOT TO DO WITH IT!!! I HOPE THEY KEEP UP MORE OF THE SAME FOR ALL TO ENJOY!! BEST REGARDS JIM

[Guest juliae]

There is an on-going transition and with all transitions, things are being streamlined, reviewed, updated. There is a respect for the Cunard tradition and there don't seem to be any plans to change anything of the Cunard tradition. There is some word that some changes will be made to the Queen Mary 2, such as shading the Boardwalk Cafe from the wind and moving waiter stations in the Britannia dining rooms. The QE 2 will likely get an upgrade, too. Basically, the only major changes are streamlining a few details that were found after the Queen Mary 2 was inaugurated, based on guest comments and suggestions.

 

The only major changes are behind the scenes with Reservations and Sales Staff. This will only primarily affect us in the travel industry, but guests shouldn't be effected.

 

Best Regards,

Julia

[nyca]

I'm not sure I like this Brooklyn pier thing at all.

 

I did find alot of burned out staff members on the QM2, and as we discussed on the other thread, I think the tipping policy is hurting the staff.

[guernseyguy]

I shall find out in a couple of weeks - but I would guess 'no'. What is easy to forget is how far 'down the drain' Cunard were when Carnival took over - at the time these boards rang out with horror stories about the 'Carnivalisation' of Cunard. There was ONE major impact of 'Carnivalisation' - the QM2. I suspect the take over of back office functions by Princess can only but help - and getting ANYONE else to do the light entertainment would be an improvement. My only worry is the 'talks' - but on that too I shall suspend judgement until I've heard some.....

 

Peter

[carlmm]

Quote from the articel: "When you sail into New York, a lot of people are still in bed and miss the view," Brown says.

 

Has this Mr. Brown ever done a crossing on the QE2 or QM2?

Seen all the early risers, eagerly watching?

Maybe it is cheaper or more comfortable for Princess/Cunard/Carnival to use Brooklyn facilities, but please do not try to make it sound like you would care about customers or "guests".

For so many people the grand entree to Manhattan is an important part of the experience.

 

Overall I am not happy with the take over by princess. Just look at there self assessment (quote from a brochure): "the informal ... ambience that make Princess's superior American-style of cruising".

Sorry Cunard was and IMHO should be about formal ambience and British-style of cruising.

[2moose]

Quote from the articel: "When you sail into New York, a lot of people are still in bed and miss the view," Brown says.

 

Has this Mr. Brown ever done a crossing on the QE2 or QM2?

Seen all the early risers, eagerly watching?

Maybe it is cheaper or more comfortable for Princess/Cunard/Carnival to use Brooklyn facilities, but please do not try to make it sound like you would care about customers or "guests".

For so many people the grand entree to Manhattan is an important part of the experience.

 

Overall I am not happy with the take over by princess. Just look at there self assessment (quote from a brochure): "the informal ... ambience that make Princess's superior American-style of cruising".

Sorry Cunard was and IMHO should be about formal ambience and British-style of cruising.

JUST RETURNED FROM 8 NITES ON THE QM2 TO THE CARIBBEAN ALTHOUGH 5 NITES WERE CASUAL MANY PEOPLE IF NOT MOST STILL DRESSED FORMAL.MAKE YOUR OWN AGENDA AS TO DRESS ON THOSE CASUAL NITES!!!!

[ocngypz]

From the reservations standpoint......wheew................is all I can say. Things have gotten soooo much better.. and their air department now is much easier to work with.

 

Now.. if only they would bring their rez system live it would be so much easier for passengers to book with their ta's. This twiddling your thumbs on hold.. even for agents.... is a pain.

[Richard Schmidt]

I've sailed QM2 twice, once with a Cunard ownership and one with Princess influence (dinning room etc was mostly Princess staffed). Anyone think that this is good or bad? Princess IMHO has gone way downhill since their heyday and now that the QM2 is moving to Brooklyn as a departure point, will all the romance be gone?

 

Yes.

[mncyclist]

Everything was excellent on our recent 16-22 April crossing. Hard to know if Princess has anything to do with it. The White Star service academy training is clearly taken seriously, as many crew members we met were proudly wearing their special pins and mentioned what they had learned and the various levels of achievement that are possible.